Is nothing sacred anymore? The NFL has a political action committee? Are you kidding me? What's worse is they are in league with the communist! Unbelievable.
(CNSNews.com) - The National Football League’s political action committee—Gridiron PAC—has weighed in on the hotly contested U.S. Senate election in Nevada that pits conservative Republican challenger Sharron Angle against Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid.
The PAC has given $10,000 to Reid—the maximum it can give in a single election cycle—and no money to Angle, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled by OpenSecrets.org.
The NFL’s PAC also contributed to other incumbent Democratic senators facing viable challengers this year, giving $5,000 to Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas; $5,000 to Russ Feingold of Wisconsin; $5,000 to Barbara Boxer of California; $5,000 to Michael Bennet of Colorado; and $5,000 to Patty Murray of Washington.
In none of these races did the NFL’s PAC contribute to the Republican challenger.
Halloween has nothing on these scary bunch of ghouls and goblins. These monsters aren't hiding anymore. They are out in the open shaking their shackles and chains wanting to enslave us to their "superior" way of life. Now that is spooky.
The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe First Published in 1845
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
" 'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door;
Only this, and nothing more."
Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow, sorrow for the lost Lenore,.
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore,
Nameless here forevermore.
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me---filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
" 'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door,
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door.
This it is, and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is, I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you." Here I opened wide the door;---
Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word,
Lenore?, This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word,
"Lenore!" Merely this, and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping, something louder than before,
"Surely," said I, "surely, that is something at my window lattice.
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore.
Let my heart be still a moment, and this mystery explore.
" 'Tis the wind, and nothing more."
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven, of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door.
Perched upon a bust of Pallas, just above my chamber door,
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly, grim, and ancient raven, wandering from the nightly shore.
Tell me what the lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore."
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning, little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door,
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."
But the raven, sitting lonely on that placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered; not a feather then he fluttered;
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "Other friends have flown before;
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master, whom unmerciful disaster
Followed fast and followed faster, till his songs one burden bore,---
Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore
Of "Never---nevermore."
But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore --
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."
Thus I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl, whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee -- by these angels he hath
Sent thee respite---respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, O quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore!"
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!--prophet still, if bird or devil!
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted--
On this home by horror haunted--tell me truly, I implore:
Is there--is there balm in Gilead?--tell me--tell me I implore!"
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil--prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that heaven that bends above us--by that God we both adore--
Tell this soul with sorrow laden, if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden, whom the angels name Lenore---
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels name Lenore?
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."
"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting--
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! -- quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."
And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming.
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted---nevermore!
A ’76 Ford Pinto barreled down a dirt road. Leaves swirled and tumble chasing after the creaky, rust bucket. James held his head out the window to escape the exhaust fumes that stung his eyes. The waning sun didn’t help either.
“Damn it! I know it’s up here somewhere.” He muttered, squinting down the road.
A white Victorian house on the right hand side came into his line of vision. James slowed down and reconnoitered. No one was in sight. He passed the driveway.
“All right! They didn’t sell them all yet.”
He parked the car thirty yards down the road, and left it running. The door opened without a sound. He had oiled it earlier that day.
Sweat saturated his flannel shirt, despite the chilly air. Heart quickened as he stole up the road. His eyes darted from left to right. There was exhilaration; a liveliness that coursed throughout his body; a thrill that hadn’t been experienced since days of adolescents.
The house was before him. Not a flicker of light or sound of body betrayed the desolate abode. James studied the edifice from behind the tree. An unusual pentagram was painted upon the door. Usually, you couldn’t quite see the design from the road; but, at this distance, it could clearly be discerned. Many designs of similar fashion were painted on the barns or other buildings in the area. None were like this.
A number of pumpkins lay on the ground. They were at least ten yards away. James pinpointed on the closest one. He darted across the lawn. Grabbing it, he ran as fast as his legs could possibly go, the burdensome cargo held tightly to his abdomen.
Tossing the pumpkin on the passenger seat, he slammed the door shut, jammed the car into gear, and stepped on the accelerator. The Pinto squirted grave; fish-tailed; then straightened on the deserted road.
Adrenaline rendered a hysterical laugh. The theft raced through his mind. A stop sign flashed by, barely catching the corner of his eye. “Whoa, I’ve got to slow down. Concentrate man…concentrate.” He said looking in the rearview mirror. “I can’t believe I just did that. This if fucking crazy.” He slowed down to the speed limit, and crept across town to home.
The Pinto creaked into the driveway. Pulling into a parking spot, the car was shut off. James looked around. The coast was clear. He jumped out of his car, quietly shut the door, and rounded the back end. The passenger door creaked open. James cringed. “Damn, I should have oiled this too.” He thought.
The pumpkin was stealthily tucked under his arm. Climbing the stairs, he fumbled through the keys. Opening the door to the efficiency apartment, he shot inside and shut it. The safe haven reached, he placed the pilfered cargo onto a pile of newspapers that littered the floor.
James sat on the bed. It was the only piece of furniture, besides a desk, a chair, and a dresser that occupied the place, and he didn’t even own that; the landlord did.
“That was too easy. I can’t believe nobody saw me. Somebody had to see me. That was too easy.” He muttered, getting up pacing the room.
A siren whined in the distance. James ran to the window. It came closer, until it seemed almost upon him; then passed. He let out a deep breath. “Who in the hell is going to report a stolen pumpkin anyway. I’m letting my imagination get away from me. I can just see it now in the papers: James Carlton arrested for stealing a pumpkin. Boy wouldn’t my parents be proud; a new low. Just when they thought I couldn’t sink any further, now they can say at the next family reunion my son is a pumpkin thief.”
Relieved, he strode into the small kitchen and retrieved a hunting knife. Kneeling before the pumpkin, he positioned the knife above it and plunged.
A horrifying scream came from nowhere, yet everywhere.
“What in the hell was that?” James gasped. He ran towards the window, pulled the blinds to one side, and peered out. A couple of kids walked down the road pushing on another; then ran.
James’s brow furrowed. He shook his head and laughed. Those kids must have screamed and the wind amplified it, he thought. Any other explanation would defy logic.
He finished carving and cleaning the pumpkin; discarding the guts into a plastic bag. He laid out a newspaper on top of the dresser and placed the pumpkin on top. Sniffing the inside, the senses arrested the pungent aroma. How he loved Halloween.
The sun disappeared into the horizon. James placed a lit candle inside the pumpkin. Its eyes, nose and mouth emitted an orange hue.
The lights were turned off in order take in the whole effect. James laid on the bed, listening to the radio. The pumpkins orifices beamed upon the adjacent wall. The shadowy nuance added character to the mood; a celebration of the macabre; the unknown
James glanced from the pumpkin to the wall, measuring the caricature’s effect. On the wall, the pumpkin’s eyes blinked. James stared in disbelief. Did I just see what I thought I saw, he asked himself? Looking back onto the pumpkin its eyes gazed back in a steady stare. James shook his head, dismissing the incident; then on the wall it happened again.
“That’s enough. My eyes are tired. I’m seeing things.” He concluded. Leaping from the bed, he blew out the candle and lay back down.
The candescent glow again appeared. James gasped in disbelief. The pumpkin’s mouth moved, moaning. James lay paralyzed; his limbs frozen. The hairs stood on end from every pore, head to foot. Sweat ran down his legs and arms, aching to move, but he dared not to lest he attract the attention of this abomination.
The pumpkin levitated off of the dresser, floating to the middle of the room. A body began to manifest; first as a shadow until it became physical. A black shroud covered the six foot demon from neck to floor. A sinewy, skeletal hand accusatively pointed.
“Thief…thief…thief!” the pumpkin’s mouth contorted, forming the hollow, cryptic words. Its eyes pinched into a malicious disdain. The light intensified, searching for an object.
James knew what it was looking for. His mind demanded his body move, but it would not comply. The pumpkin began to search. Its candescent orifice beamed over the room. It floated into the kitchen and found the hunting knife. Wielding it, the pumpkin shrieked charging for the bed.
James screamed, leaping onto the floor. There was nowhere to run. He had to meet the challenge or die. The pumpkin slashed. James caught the ghoulish arm, stopping the knife from penetrating into his skull. The pumpkin gripped him around the throat, squeezing and choking. Its mouth gnashed, and snarled. James gasped from the death hold, and putrid breath that emitted from this monstrous aberration.
“Die! Die!” The pumpkin screamed, sensing success.
James desperately groped; pushing the pumpkin’s brow back. His thumb and fingers searched, until they penetrated the pumpkin’s eyes. The demon screamed, releasing James’s neck, trying to extract the intrusive hand. James pulled on the bridge between the eyes. He could feel it give.
“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” They both screamed.
The bridge ripped off of the pumpkin and flew across the room, hitting the wall. An orangish, red liquid streamed from the gaping hole down into the pumpkin’s wailing mouth; spitting onto James and the floor. The pumpkin dropped the knife. Both its hands covered the open wound.
“Die motherfucker!! Die!!” James screamed, pummeling and stomping the pumpkins head, until it became nothing more than a moist pulp onto the wooden floor. The pumpkin’s body twitched in its final death throes and slowly disappeared, leaving not a trace.
James stopped. His breath was harsh and irregular. His heart pounded. Picking up the knife, he sat down on the chair. Both arms and legs heavy from the struggle, quivered. He stared at the remains, until it incoherently suffused into an orangish blob.
“I can’t believe this. Did this just happen? This must be some nightmare. I’m actually living a nightmare.” He thought aloud. “No…this didn’t happen. It didn’t happen at all. I imagined the whole damn thing.” A shaky laugh escaped his lips.
He glanced up on the wall. The pumpkins candescent gaze again illuminated. James gasped. It flickered and waned; flickered and waned; flickered and waned; then died
Democrats cry about the incivility of today's politics. Maybe they should look at this video. Our founding fathers knew how to smear someone. I would say liberals are following a time honored tradition. Just look at how they treated Christine O'Donnell in Delaware.
It's about time conservatives take the gloves off, and start bloodying some commie noses. No more Mr. Nice Guy. This is war!
Congresswoman Betty McCollum represents the citizens of Minnesota’s 4th district; except of course the God fearing kind. Betty led the pledge of allegiance on the United States floor of the House of Representatives, yet she took a breath just in time to omit God from our time honored tradition; so she says.
Take a look at the above video. You be the judge.
We have a cadre of people who are in a position of power who believe that our unalienable rights are not God given; but rather, those rights are determined by government officials and therefore can easily be taken away. Rep. McCollum denied that she intentionally made an omission, as per her website:
October 26, 2010 -- McCollum Honors Pledge of Allegiance and “One Nation Under God”
Congresswoman condemns radical right-wing agenda of hate, intolerance and racism
St. Paul, MN -- Congresswoman Betty McCollum honors and respects the Pledge of Allegiance and believes the United States is one Nation under God. She has led the Pledge of Allegiance on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives numerous times as can be seen in these video links.
Conservatives are using an eight year old video clip to incite hate, racism, and intolerance among Tea Party Republicans. This right-wing effort to call into question Congresswoman McCollum's Christian faith, her belief in God, and her patriotism is blatantly anti-American and all too similar to the extremists who earlier this year mailed a soiled American flag to her Congressional office and threatened the Congresswoman with violence.
Congresswoman McCollum rejects this radical agenda and condemns the extremist tactics behind this poisonous political exploitation of the Pledge of Allegiance
So calling out the congresswoman is equivalent to hate, intolerance, and racism and is anti-American? Who are you going to believe: your lying eyes or Rep. Betty McCollum?
Finally, science has confirmed what we all knew to be true: liberalism is a birth defect:
The study was led by UCSD's James Fowler and focused on 2,000 subjects from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Scientists matched the subjects' genetic information with "maps" of their social networks. According to researchers, they determined that people "with a specific variant of the DRD4 gene were more likely to be liberal as adults." However, the, subjects were only more likely to have leanings to the left if they were also socially active during adolescence.
If socially active is having your head dunked in toilets; receiving atomic wedgies; and running away from bullies, yeah I can see it.
Here’s to a man whose inflated ego and superiority complex can match no one except the possibility of his hero: Barack Hussein Obama. Bill Maher you are a real man of genius. Only you can denigrate Americans who disagree with you as a bunch of hillbillies who need to be dragged into the ‘19th Century’. Wow, I wish I had your sense of self-worth.
While the rest of the country is eating opossum soup and cleaning their one tooth with a clipped toenail, you are hobnobbing with the “beautiful people” at the Playboy mansion. While the unwashed masses in fly over country are dancing with their snakes on Sunday, you are nursing a hangover with some whore you picked up at an exclusive nightclub.
Bill Maher you are a genius. You have a show on HBO that no one watches and yet you get paid well for your self-congratulatory intelligence. We plebeians quake in our boots at the brain power that you emit. You must be the offspring of alien beings.
Just what are you to do with us low lives that have the audacity to live in your world? Is there a final solution for the enfeebled and malformed? Do tattooed people make good lampshades?
So here’s to you Bill Maher. I would toast you with champagne, but can only afford my hillbilly moonshine.
The Charlotte Observer (to no one’s surprise) endorsed Larry Kissell for North Carolina’s 8th Congressional district. Here are the reasons cited by that rag:
8th District: Larry Kissell
Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell faces Republican Harold Johnson and Libertarian Thomas Hill in the district that stretches from Charlotte to Fayetteville.
The 8th District includes Anson, Richmond, Scotland, Hoke, Montgomery and Stanly counties as well as portions of Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Union and Cumberland counties. It takes in affluent areas near Charlotte, and battered manufacturing areas in the region. Fayetteville's Fort Bragg is located in the district, so there are strong military interests. But many parts of the district are rural, with high levels of joblessness and poverty.
We recommend Larry Kissell. Kissell's background gives him insight into the multi-level needs of this district. A former textile worker, he became a classroom teacher after the plant he worked at closed.
Kissell's votes his first term have put him in the ideological middle of the House, according to a National Journal analysis. Testament to that? He's been endorsed by the National Rifle Association and the N.C. AFL-CIO. He's independent-minded and doesn't always stick with party-backed legislation. He voted against the health-care reform bill because of his concerns about the effect on Medicare.
Libertarian Thomas Hill has been barely visible so the matchup is essentially between Kissell and former sports broadcaster Harold Johnson. Johnson doesn't have a depth of knowledge about the issues or the district. His campaign has mostly parroted GOP talking points.
Kissell's campaign mantra has been "the best way to get re-elected is to do a good job." He has done a good job and deserves a second term.
So the Charlotte Observer is endorsing Kissell based on his independent thinking, coupled with the endorsement of the NRA and the AFL-CIO. Well, let’s take a look at the independence of Mr. Kissell. Had Nancy Pelosi needed his vote, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have bent over and grabbed his ankles. The 8th is a fairly conservative district and Speaker Pelosi didn’t want to needlessly alienate a blue dog if unnecessary; retaining power is first and foremost important to these statist scumbags.
The National Rifle Association along with other organizations usually back incumbents. The VFW just dropped their PAC because of their outrageous endorsements of politicians like Barbara Boxer who are hostile the military. The NRA knows that the chances of defeating an entrenched politician are difficult and there is no reason to incur their wrath.
The endorsement of the AFL-CIO is nothing to brag about. Their president is a known communist. I would be ashamed to have that organization back me.
When Larry Kissell voted against Obamacare and the cap and trade bill, I called and congratulated him. I even went to his office in D.C. and wrote a note of thanks; but what is not mentioned are the procedural votes that allowed those bills to come to the floor; and Kissell is guilty for allowing that to happen.
What is even more disturbing is Larry Kissells spendthrift mindset. He seems to think that the best way to represent a district is raiding the U. S. Treasury. The country can’t afford politicians with this mentality. The country can’t afford Larry Kissell.
Rep. John Spratt is in big trouble. He is polling 10 points behind challenger Mick Mulvaney according to a Hill Poll:
Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) trails Republican Mick Mulvaney by 10 points, 39 percent to 49 percent, with 10 percent of likely voters undecided, according to The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll.
Mulvaney is winning independents by 23 points and leads among male, female, middle-aged and older voters. The only group Spratt leads is younger voters, but he’s winning that unpredictable voting group by a mere two points.
Spratt’s favorability rating is 41 percent, with 47 percent rating him unfavorably. And 43 percent said Spratt’s 14 terms in Congress were a reason to vote against him.
South Carolina’s 5th congressional district does not have the same values as San Francisco. That’s what happens when you vote against the interest of your constituents. That’s what you get for voting like a socialist instead of an American. Good riddance John Spratt.
Stop the vegecide! Every year millions of pumpkins are cruelly bludgeoned and disfigured; their guts scraped and unceremoniously thrown out on old newspapers. Why? So they can be used as lamps. Oh, the horror! Oh, the vegemanity! Not even pumpkins from the sincerest patch escape the degradations of mans contempt for all of plant life.
A study from Michigan State proves that plants have feelings:
Researchers from Michigan State University have discovered that plants have a rudimentary nerve structure, which allows them to feel pain. According to the peer-reviewed journal Plant Physiology, plants are capable of identifying danger, signaling that danger to other plants and marshaling defenses against perceived threats. According to botanist Bill Williams of the Helvetica Institute, "plants not only seem to be aware and to feel pain, they can even communicate."
Can you not feel their pain? Can you not hear their cries? A pumpkin’s tears are just as real as yours. Please stop. Please for the love of God show mercy.
We have enemies within the state that are trying to undermine American values and way of life. The quickest way to do it is devalue citizenship. The 9th Circus Court has just done that. Fox Nation Reports:
Liberal 9th Circuit Court Strikes Again
A federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out a state mandate for people to provide proof of citizenship before being allowed to register to vote.
In a divided decision, the majority of the three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded the requirement, approved by Arizona voters in 2004, runs afoul of the federal National Voter Registration Act. That law spells out procedures to register to vote in federal elections.
Judge Sandra Ikuta, writing the majority decision, concluded that the Arizona law imposes an additional requirement not permitted. Siding with Ikuta was retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor who also heard the legal arguments.
The ruling drew fire from Judge Alex Kozinski who said the full 9th Circuit reached a different conclusion about the law three years ago.
But Ikuta said that 2007 decision, which came in a request by the same plaintiffs in this case to enjoin the law, "was rooted in a fundamental misreading of the statute.''
She said that earlier ruling was based on the premise that Arizona could either accept the federal form, which does not require proof of citizenship, or develop its own form.
Rep. John Spratt is in a tough campaign to retain his congressional house seat. The incumbent has represented the people of South Carolina's 5th district since 1982. He admitted that he has never seen such anger in his political career, as described by the Herald:
Anger surprised Spratt
In a recent interview, Spratt said he didn't foresee the level of anger that has defined this election season.
"I knew health care would be a big issue," he said. "Frankly, I didn't think it would be this difficult. Some things we've done, I thought would be better received once the results were met."
You've got to be kidding me! Spratt was in congress in 1994 the last time they tried to shove nationalized health care down our throat. What in the hell did he think would happen if they actually passed it? Spratt is obviously out of touch. He has Potomac fever and the only cure is permanent retirement.
It looks like we are getting the usual funny business at polling places. A New Bern, North Carolina man pushed a straight Republican ticket and instead got Democratic. This according to the Sun Journal:
A Craven County voter says he had a near miss at the polls on Thursday when an electronic voting machine completed his straight-party ticket for the opposite of what he intended.
Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern said he pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result, he said. Then he asked for and received help from election staff.
“They pushed it twice and the same thing happened,” Laughinghouse said. “That was four times in a row. The fifth time they pushed it and the Republicans came up and I voted.”
Not only are we getting some funny shenanigans here in North Carolina, voters in Nevada are finding out that someone has chosen Harry Reid for them before they even begin to push the lever. Isn't that thoughtful?
You've got to love those jackasses and their little pranks. They know how to make every election cycle a barrel of laughs.
New Jersey teachers let loose. One makes an astonishing admission of negotiating in bad faith. Governor Christie has a serious problem with these people. This video is worth watching.
We finally get some honest reporting from CBS. 60 Minutes confirms what we've known all along: unemployment and underemployment is really around 17%. Somebody must have tipped over their glass of kool-aid.
On October 25, 1854 at the Battle of Balaclava, Lord Cardigan ordered the charge that would go down as one of the biggest blunders in military history. The Light Brigade rode into the Valley of Death numbering 673 of which 278 became casualties; an unknown number became Russian prisoners.
Lord Cardigan led the charge. He later described the disastrous results:
We advanced down a gradual descent of more than three-quarters of a mile, with the batteries vomiting forth upon us shells and shot, round and grape, with one battery on our right flank and another on the left, and all the intermediate ground covered with the Russian riflemen; so that when we came to within a distance of fifty yards from the mouths of the artillery which had been hurling destruction upon us, we were, in fact, surrounded and encircled by a blaze of fire, in addition to the fire of the riflemen upon our flanks.
As we ascended the hill, the oblique fire of the artillery poured upon our rear, so that we had thus a strong fire upon our front, our flank, and our rear. We entered the battery—we went through the battery—the two leading regiments cutting down a great number of the Russian gunners in their onset. In the two regiments which I had the honour to lead, every officer, with one exception, was either killed or wounded, or had his horse shot under him or injured. Those regiments proceeded, followed by the second line, consisting of two more regiments of cavalry, which continued to perform the duty of cutting down the Russian gunners.
Then came the third line, formed of another regiment, which endeavoured to complete the duty assigned to our brigade. I believe that this was achieved with great success, and the result was that this body, composed of only about 670 men, succeeded in passing through the mass of Russian cavalry of—as we have since learned—5,240 strong; and having broken through that mass, they went, according to our technical military expression, "threes about," and retired in the same manner, doing as much execution in their course as they possibly could upon the enemy's cavalry. Upon our returning up the hill which we had descended in the attack, we had to run the same gauntlet and to incur the same risk from the flank fire of the Tirailleurs [riflemen] as we had encountered before. Numbers of our men were shot down—men and horses were killed, and many of the soldiers who had lost their horses were also shot down while endeavouring to escape.
But what, my Lord, was the feeling and what the bearing of those brave men who returned to the position. Of each of these regiments there returned but a small detachment, two-thirds of the men engaged having been destroyed? I think that every man who was engaged in that disastrous affair at Balaklava, and who was fortunate enough to come out of it alive, must feel that it was only by a merciful decree of Almighty Providence that he escaped from the greatest apparent certainty of death which could possibly be conceived.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
2.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
3.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
4.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
5.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
6.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.
Civitas Review Magazine reported in their October edition the income gap between public and private sector workers. North Carolina’s state employees are making out like bandits. The average annual wage of government workers increased 34.5% from the years 2000 to 2009, while the private sector increased only 27%.
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE IN NORTH CAROLINA
2000 2009
State Government $32,832 $44,158
Private
Sector $30,977 $39,350
Gap 6% 12.2%
TOTAL COMPENSATION IN 2009
Private Sector $55,737
State Government $67,008
Gap 20%
The disparity between the two is quite striking. North Carolina is facing a huge budget deficit. State lawmakers need to readjust the wage and compensation packages of government workers. It needs to be in line with the private sector. What is even more outrageous is they get to retire at age 55 while the rest of us slave away for another 10 to 15 years. I wish I had that deal.
School officials in Cincinnati, Ohio escorted three vans loaded with high school students to the downtown elections office. These children were given a sample ballot demarking only Democratic candidates and were fed ice cream after they pulled the lever. A lawsuit was filed to stop four other high schools that planned on voting as well:
The suit alleges three van loads of Hughes High students arrived at the Downtown Board of Elections offices at 1 p.m. Wednesday, supervised by a school employee. School lets out at 3:15 p.m.
When they got out of the vans, the students, the suit alleges, also were accompanied by adults who appeared to be campaign workers or supporters for U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus, D-West Price Hill, the congressman being challenged this fall by Steve Chabot. When the students got out of the vans, the suit alleges they were given sample ballots containing only Democratic candidates.
A lawyer representing Cincinnati public schools denied any wrong doing.
It’s bad enough that these so-called educators are indoctrinating today’s youth, now they are using them to vote for their handpicked candidates. I have a serious problem with kids voting to begin with. They do not have the life experience to make intelligent decisions and are easily manipulated by their schoolmarm masters. If I were a parent of one of these kids, I would be livid.
I like many of you have been bombarded with political flyers for the last couple of weeks. One of the more persist groups is the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education.
The National Education Association is probably the largest professional organization and labor union in the country. Their support for socialist policies is notorious and disconcerting; especially since the members of this organization are primarily educators. The NEA website has Saul Alinsky as recommended reading. Isn’t that scary?
The target in North Carolina’s 8th congressional district is Harold Johnson. The NEA Fund for Children and Public Education is clearly in the Larry Kissell camp. Here is a sample of their fear mongering:
Harold Johnson would give corporations and the rich a tax break while putting more burdens on our backs
Harold Johnson would hurt middle-class families and our economy
Harold Johnson would privatize Social Security, reduce guaranteed minimum benefits, and give billions of dollars in fees to Wall Street firms
Harold Johnson wants to let Wall Street gamble with Social Security
Harold Johnson would let Social Security’s guaranteed benefits end
It seems the NEA is concerned with every issue except education. Now we know why Johnny can’t read.
Yeah, sure Elaine. If you get to D.C. you'll follow the party line. You are a tax and spender just like the rest of the socialist in the Democratic Party. No one is fooled.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel shocked the world’s politically correct multi-culti propagators by proclaiming that multiculturalism doesn’t work. In a speech given at a conference she stated that integration of foreign workers was an utter failure and an illusion. As reported by the Guardian:
"We kidded ourselves for a while that they wouldn't stay, but that's not the reality," she said at a conference of the youth wing of her Christian Democratic Union party at the weekend, referring to the gastarbeiters, or guest workers, who arrived in Germany to fill a labour shortage during the economic boom of the 1960s.
"Of course the tendency had been to say, 'let's adopt the multicultural concept and live happily side by side, and be happy to be living with each other'. But this concept has failed, and failed utterly," she said, without elaborating on the nature and causes of this failure.
Let’s make no mistake who the foreign workers are; they are Muslims. The Chancellor had better take care or she just might get charged for hate speech. There are currently two high profile cases in Europe of citizens that have been slapped down for speaking out against the religion of peace.
It looks like Germany has awaked to the dangers of a diaspora that has enmity in its heart and resentment to all things un-Islamic. Hopefully, the United Kingdom will smell the salts too. It may be too late for them.
Mexican Citizens are rioting in border towns. They are not protesting the lawlessness that is wrought by the occupying drug cartels; no, they are protesting the Mexican military and police. The protesters are thought to be on the payroll of the murderous gangs that have taken control of northern Mexico.
A Texas state senator was recently interviewed on Fox News. He warns of a massive migration of refugees who may attempt to cross the border so as to escape the mayhem and savagery of these cartels. During the interview the senator, warned that Texans will not stand by and let these savages cross over into their territory and harm the citizens of that great state. The citizens of Texas know they are pretty much on their own.
The Obama administration is weak and impotent at securing our border. The Washington Times reported the response of the federal government to the crisis in Arizona:
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, whose county lies at the center of major drug and alien smuggling routes to Phoenix and cities east and west, attests to the violence. He said his deputies are outmanned and outgunned by drug traffickers in the rough-hewn desert stretches of his own county.
"Mexican drug cartels literally do control parts of Arizona," he said. "They literally have scouts on the high points in the mountains and in the hills and they literally control movement. They have radios, they have optics, they have night-vision goggles as good as anything law enforcement has.
"This is going on here in Arizona," he said. "This is 70 to 80 miles from the border - 30 miles from the fifth-largest city in the United States."
He said he asked the Obama administration for 3,000 National Guard soldiers to patrol the border, but what he got were 15 signs.
The states must defend themselves. We can’t expect protection from the Obama Administration. This president is too busy trying to bankrupt the country; besides he would just blame us for Mexico’s problems.
Rep. Loretta Sanchez is a racist. The only immigrant that is acceptable to her is Hispanics. Apparently her opponent, whose ancestry hails from Vietnam, does not qualify.
Ms. Sanchez believes that this congressional seat belongs to her and nobody else. Her sense of entitlement is appalling. What's even worse is that she sits on the Committee of Border Security. Here is a video of her bragging about impeding the building of a fence on our southern border:
Rep Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) has only one allegiance, and that is to her ethnicity. Her fealty to the United States is based solely on skin color and the Spanish language.
Who's extreme? The Democrats would have you believe that a trillion dollar budget deficit is not extreme. That putting the yoke of multi-generational debt around our necks isn't extreme. That making us subservient to the Chinese is not a detriment to our national security.
Those who believe printing money is the way to prosperity are the extremist.
Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fl) can dish it out but he can't take it. His thumb must be blistered from sucking on it. Man up bawl baby!
"I can't believe it myself. I mean, I'm a first-term Democrat. I don't sit on the appropriations committee. I'm not a member of leadership and they're really, really out to get me," Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) said on MSNBC.
Rep. Grayson is offended that his children has watched politicians and ads on television attack him.
Grayson, however, is known for fierce criticism of his opponents. Recently, he has labeled his election opponent as a member of the Taliban in a negative advertisement.
"They destroy us with these negative ads. These blistering, evil negative ads. In front of my -- in front of my children on my TV set, they called me a liar, they've called me a loud-mouth, they said I'm a national embarrassment. And this is their idea of constructive dialogue," Grayson complained.
Professor Emiritus Hal Lewis Resigns from American Physical Society
The following is a letter to the American Physical Society released to the public by Professor Emiritus of physics Hal Lewis of the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Sent: Friday, 08 October 2010 17:19 Hal Lewis
From: Hal Lewis, University of California, Santa Barbara
To: Curtis G. Callan, Jr., Princeton University, President of the American Physical Society
6 October 2010
Dear Curt:
When I first joined the American Physical Society sixty-seven years ago it was much smaller, much gentler, and as yet uncorrupted by the money flood (a threat against which Dwight Eisenhower warned a half-century ago).
Indeed, the choice of physics as a profession was then a guarantor of a life of poverty and abstinence—it was World War II that changed all that. The prospect of worldly gain drove few physicists. As recently as thirty-five years ago, when I chaired the first APS study of a contentious social/scientific issue, The Reactor Safety Study, though there were zealots aplenty on the outside there was no hint of inordinate pressure on us as physicists. We were therefore able to produce what I believe was and is an honest appraisal of the situation at that time. We were further enabled by the presence of an oversight committee consisting of Pief Panofsky, Vicki Weisskopf, and Hans Bethe, all towering physicists beyond reproach. I was proud of what we did in a charged atmosphere. In the end the oversight committee, in its report to the APS President, noted the complete independence in which we did the job, and predicted that the report would be attacked from both sides. What greater tribute could there be?
How different it is now. The giants no longer walk the earth, and the money flood has become the raison d’être of much physics research, the vital sustenance of much more, and it provides the support for untold numbers of professional jobs. For reasons that will soon become clear my former pride at being an APS Fellow all these years has been turned into shame, and I am forced, with no pleasure at all, to offer you my resignation from the Society.
It is of course, the global warming scam, with the (literally) trillions of dollars driving it, that has corrupted so many scientists, and has carried APS before it like a rogue wave. It is the greatest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud I have seen in my long life as a physicist. Anyone who has the faintest doubt that this is so should force himself to read the ClimateGate documents, which lay it bare. (Montford’s book organizes the facts very well.) I don’t believe that any real physicist, nay scientist, can read that stuff without revulsion. I would almost make that revulsion a definition of the word scientist.
So what has the APS, as an organization, done in the face of this challenge? It has accepted the corruption as the norm, and gone along with it. For example:
1. About a year ago a few of us sent an e-mail on the subject to a fraction of the membership. APS ignored the issues, but the then President immediately launched a hostile investigation of where we got the e-mail addresses. In its better days, APS used to encourage discussion of important issues, and indeed the Constitution cites that as its principal purpose. No more. Everything that has been done in the last year has been designed to silence debate
2. The appallingly tendentious APS statement on Climate Change was apparently written in a hurry by a few people over lunch, and is certainly not representative of the talents of APS members as I have long known them. So a few of us petitioned the Council to reconsider it. One of the outstanding marks of (in)distinction in the Statement was the poison word incontrovertible, which describes few items in physics, certainly not this one. In response APS appointed a secret committee that never met, never troubled to speak to any skeptics, yet endorsed the Statement in its entirety. (They did admit that the tone was a bit strong, but amazingly kept the poison word incontrovertible to describe the evidence, a position supported by no one.) In the end, the Council kept the original statement, word for word, but approved a far longer “explanatory” screed, admitting that there were uncertainties, but brushing them aside to give blanket approval to the original. The original Statement, which still stands as the APS position, also contains what I consider pompous and asinine advice to all world governments, as if the APS were master of the universe. It is not, and I am embarrassed that our leaders seem to think it is. This is not fun and games, these are serious matters involving vast fractions of our national substance, and the reputation of the Society as a scientific society is at stake.
3. In the interim the ClimateGate scandal broke into the news, and the machinations of the principal alarmists were revealed to the world. It was a fraud on a scale I have never seen, and I lack the words to describe its enormity. Effect on the APS position: none. None at all. This is not science; other forces are at work.
4. So a few of us tried to bring science into the act (that is, after all, the alleged and historic purpose of APS), and collected the necessary 200+ signatures to bring to the Council a proposal for a Topical Group on Climate Science, thinking that open discussion of the scientific issues, in the best tradition of physics, would be beneficial to all, and also a contribution to the nation. I might note that it was not easy to collect the signatures, since you denied us the use of the APS membership list. We conformed in every way with the requirements of the APS Constitution, and described in great detail what we had in mind—simply to bring the subject into the open.
5. To our amazement, Constitution be damned, you declined to accept our petition, but instead used your own control of the mailing list to run a poll on the members’ interest in a TG on Climate and the Environment. You did ask the members if they would sign a petition to form a TG on your yet-to-be-defined subject, but provided no petition, and got lots of affirmative responses. (If you had asked about sex you would have gotten more expressions of interest.) There was of course no such petition or proposal, and you have now dropped the Environment part, so the whole matter is moot. (Any lawyer will tell you that you cannot collect signatures on a vague petition, and then fill in whatever you like.) The entire purpose of this exercise was to avoid your constitutional responsibility to take our petition to the Council.
6. As of now you have formed still another secret and stacked committee to organize your own TG, simply ignoring our lawful petition.
APS management has gamed the problem from the beginning, to suppress serious conversation about the merits of the climate change claims. Do you wonder that I have lost confidence in the organization?
I do feel the need to add one note, and this is conjecture, since it is always risky to discuss other people’s motives. This scheming at APS HQ is so bizarre that there cannot be a simple explanation for it. Some have held that the physicists of today are not as smart as they used to be, but I don’t think that is an issue. I think it is the money, exactly what Eisenhower warned about a half-century ago. There are indeed trillions of dollars involved, to say nothing of the fame and glory (and frequent trips to exotic islands) that go with being a member of the club. Your own Physics Department (of which you are chairman) would lose millions a year if the global warming bubble burst. When Penn State absolved Mike Mann of wrongdoing, and the University of East Anglia did the same for Phil Jones, they cannot have been unaware of the financial penalty for doing otherwise. As the old saying goes, you don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. Since I am no philosopher, I’m not going to explore at just which point enlightened self-interest crosses the line into corruption, but a careful reading of the ClimateGate releases makes it clear that this is not an academic question.
I want no part of it, so please accept my resignation. APS no longer represents me, but I hope we are still friends.
Hal
Harold Lewis is Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, former Chairman; Former member Defense Science Board, chmn of Technology panel; Chairman DSB study on Nuclear Winter; Former member Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Former member, President’s Nuclear Safety Oversight Committee; Chairman APS study on Nuclear Reactor Safety Chairman Risk Assessment Review Group; Co-founder and former Chairman of JASON; Former member USAF Scientific Advisory Board; Served in US Navy in WW II; books: Technological Risk (about, surprise, technological risk) and Why Flip a Coin (about decision making
Jim Nolan is running for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina. He is an AP Government teacher from Morehead City and is using his classroom and students to wage a write-in campaign on his behalf. Ostensibly, this is a lesson on civics, but what's disturbing is his platform. It is stereotypical of public sector teachers, and if my kids were attending his classes, I would be concerned.
Mr. Nolan demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of our federalist system, and shows contempt for our Constitution: a typical trait of progressives. He has outlined what is wrong with our style of governance and noted what improvements should be made. Here are a few of the most absurd and easily refuted arguments of candidate Nolan:
Elimination of the Electoral College
A remnant of the Republic's disdain for the common man's voice - it should be eliminated.
The popular vote coupled with mandatory voting will give a better picture of America’s true voice
First of all the common man does have a voice, it is called the House of Representatives. Eliminating the Electoral College would disenfranchise the less populated states. Presidential candidates would cater to the big urban centers at the expense of others. Cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami would benefit greatly from the promises of candidates while the common man in Montana and Idaho would be neglected.
The 17th Amendment is a perfect example of a transfer of power from the rural areas to urban. Before the Amendment, the state legislature decided who would represent them in the U.S. Senate. Now it is done by popular vote, and with it came an explosion of campaign contributions by special interest that in many instances is harmful to the states themselves.
Candidate Nolan believes in mandatory voting or a fine of $200 will be levied. Yeah, let’s have a bunch of uninformed morons voting. Didn’t we learn our lesson from the last general election?
Term limits for Congress
House terms should be 4 years instead of 2. The members must spend most of their time raising money for re-election and that’s insane. There should also be a term limit of 20 years, or 5 election cycles. This will allow for new people to come into the political arena with new ideas and prevent the temptation for corruption. And since 98% of incumbents get re-elected due to special interest money, this limit is necessary
Candidate Nolan has a point on term limits, though his reasoning is flawed. He believes that the terms of the House of Representatives should be 4 years instead of 2 because they spend most of their time raising money? How is an extra two years going to stop that? The whole reasoning for a two year term is to make these politicians more accountable to the people. I fail to see how a four year term accomplishes anything.
Elections
The election process can be improved also. How about an election date change to allow for easier voting - for example, a National Holiday, or an election week, with local polling places staffed not with all volunteers but local public servants such as policemen and firemen or teachers after school taking shifts? If we are touting democracy all over the world, let’s live up to the bragging.
All I have to say is that if you can’t make it on time to vote, then you are not that interested; and that means you are uninformed. We don’t need a bunch of idiots voting for people who don’t have a clue on the important issues of the day. Again, haven’t we learned our lesson from the last election?
Candidate Nolan would have us replace volunteers, who actually care about the process and sacrifice their time because it matters to them. He would rather have special interest groups like the public employee unions watching over our votes. I don’t think so! All you have to do is look at Greece, New Jersey, Chicago and California to see the corruption involved in that.
What I find particularly offensive is the use of students to disseminate his propaganda. I will agree that there is a lot of waste in the defense budget and cutting it by 30% is somewhat reasonable; but to say it would get rid of the deficit is absurd:
Here is an actual figure that compares the Iraq war to the rest of the budget, and for good measure a demographic showing the budget deficits of Bush compared to Obama. Candidate Nolan’s assertions are patently false.
The rest of his platform is what you expect from a progressive nut job teacher who is indoctrinating his students. It makes a good argument for a voucher system and private education.
Anderson Cooper interviewed Renee Ellmers who is running against Rep. Bob Etheridge for the U.S. House seat in the second district of North Carolina. Ms. Ellmers ran a controversial ad about the Ground Zero Mosque and her opponent’s inability to take a stand on the subject. What was really appalling in this interview was Cooper equating Muslim conquest to that of Christians in the Roman Empire. He basically implied that a foreign Christian army invaded Rome and took over pagan temples and converted them into churches. Somebody needs to give Anderson Cooper a history book.
Constantine the Great is universally known as the first Christian Roman Emperor. He converted on the battlefield at Milvian Bridge in 312AD after seeing the sign of the Christian cross and adopting it as his symbol. He went on to defeat his brother-in-law Maxentius cementing his belief in the power of the Christian God.
Even though Constantine converted to Christianity he was prudent not to alienate the pagans who made up the majority of his subjects and particularly his army. During his reign he pushed Christianity carefully in ambivalent stages with the ultimate goal to reunify the empire:
Christian Bishops under Constantine functioned in an official capacity as Imperial advisors. Tax exemptions were granted to Christian priests and money was granted from the Imperial treasury to provide for new and rebuilt churches. At a meeting of Bishops in Milan (313 AD) an edict (of Milan) was passed which essentially granted complete tolerance to all religions, but Christianity would benefit the most. Previous victims of various persecutions were also granted compensation directly from the Roman treasury. Still, however, Constantine left a confusing trail for his personal religious thoughts. Association with Sol Invictus is still cited for several more years, at least until the complete unification of the Empire. The emperor in the east, Licinius maintained an adversarial relationship with Constantine for many years, which included two short wars for Imperial dominance. Licinius seems to have maintained more support for traditional pagan customs and Constantine may have resisted complete Christian conversion in order to maintain the approval of the non-Christian majority population. Perhaps in order to lure Constantine into a final battle, Licinius began inciting Pagans against Constantine's edict which favored Christianity and championed a Pagan cause. By 324 AD, the conflict and rivalry came to a head. Constantine defeated Licinius in battles at Adrianople and Chrysopolis, which ended in Licinius' capture and execution.
The conversion of the Roman Empire from paganism to Christianity came from the lower classes and eventually from the very Emperor’s themselves. Islam can’t boast that same history. Their conversions came from the sword, slavery and coercion.
